A disturbing picture of a child in Catholic school uniform with his hands tied together with plastic tape has drawn critical remarks after it was uploaded to the internet early this week.

The boy in the photo was two years old and a student at Rosaryhill Kindergarten in Wan Chai when the photo was taken, according to the person who uploaded it to a social networking site and was interviewed by a local newspaper.

The man who uploaded the photo also claimed to be a former teacher at the school and said he took the photo because he felt saddened by the child’s treatment, according to a report published in Apple Daily on Wednesday. It is not clear when it was taken.

“This is absolutely DISGUSTING. Whoever posted this is responsible for placing the child in this position and thinks this is some sort of sick joke,” commented another teacher, who is not involved in the case but saw the photo on the social networking site.

In the photo, the child is kneeling on the floor in what appears to be an activity room with both hands tightly taped together.

The school, Rosaryhill Kindergarten, would neither confirm nor deny that the child in the photo had been a student of theirs.

“Our school has guidelines stating that no form of physical punishment is allowed at the school. If this is discovered, the school management will deal with it in a serious manner,” a press statement issued by the school today afternoon reads.

The statement also said that the school had already made a report to the police about the incident.

“Circulating and publishing this picture is a form of bullying behaviour and could negatively impact the child's psychological development,” the press release reads.

The man who said he had taken the photo told Apple Daily, “I asked the teachers what happened. They said he was grabbing toys when he should have been sitting at a table. He looked so sad so I took the picture.”

Police said on Friday they had contracted the school to collect information in connection with the case and that they were treating it as suspected ill-treatment of a child..

Crime-squad officers are investigating the case. No one has been arrested.